Since the beginning of Donald Trump’s second term in January, legal disputes have continued over his administration’s policies, especially with Democratic states. This time, an important immigration policy of the Trump administration, the $1,00,000 fee increase on H-1B visas, is going to be challenged in court by 19 states. These include California, New York, Illinois and other states.

Lawsuit over H-1B visa fee increase
California and other states have filed lawsuits against the Trump administration. The H-1B program allows US employers to hire foreign workers for specialized occupations, as described by the US Department of Labor.

California Attorney General Rob Banta wrote on Twitter that Trump’s illegal new $100,000 H-1B visa fee could hinder the recruitment of teachers, physicians, researchers, nurses and other critical workers and jeopardize California’s ability to provide essential services. According to a press release from Banta’s office, this new fee could pose a costly barrier to employers, especially public and government institutions, who are trying to fill these positions.

When and where will the case be filed
According to Reuters report, this lawsuit will be filed on Friday (local time) and will be presented in the Federal Court of Massachusetts. This will be at least the third legal challenge. Earlier this increased fee was challenged by the US Chamber of Commerce and a coalition of unions, employers and religious groups.

What is this policy?
According to Banta’s office, the lawsuit states that this policy, implemented by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), is a clear violation of the law. This is because it imposes burdensome fees outside the limits authorized by Congress, goes against the intent of Congress in establishing the H-1B program, bypasses essential rulemaking processes, and exceeds the power granted to the executive branch under the Administrative Procedure Act (APA).

Generally, the H-1B visa fee is set by DHS under the APA’s notice and comment process and is limited to the amount necessary to carry out the agency’s work. The lawsuit says that while an employer typically pays fees ranging from $960 to $7,595 when filing an initial H-1B petition, the new increased fee far exceeds the actual cost.

Banta’s statement
“No president can arbitrarily destabilize our schools, hospitals and universities, and no president can ignore Congress, the Constitution or the law,” Banta said at a press conference on Friday.

charge of disregard of procedure
The states also alleged that the increased fees were issued without the notice-and-comment process required by the APA and did not fully consider the impacts, particularly on the delivery of critical services by government and non-profit entities.

State filing suit
Besides California, the other states are: Massachusetts, Arizona, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, North Carolina, New Jersey, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, Washington, and Wisconsin. Attorneys General of California Rob Banta and Joey Campbell of Massachusetts are leading attorneys general of other states in filing the lawsuit.

The IPL 2026 auction will be held on December 16 in Abu Dhabi, the total purse of all 10 teams is more than Rs 200 crore. According to a report by Cricbuzz, 1355 players have registered for the mini auction. Two veteran players, Glenn Maxwell and Faf du Plessis, have already withdrawn their names from the auction, while Andre Russell has taken retirement from IPL. These veteran players will not be a part of the auction, but will all the 1355 players who have registered be bid in the auction? What are the rules regarding this, here you will get the answer to this question.

What are the rules? Know the whole process

Before the auction in the Indian Premier League, hundreds of players from India and abroad register their names. To register the name, a player has to obtain NOC (No-Objection Certificate) from the cricket board of his country or state. Players get registered with BCCI, after which the number of registered players is revealed. Meaning 1355 players have sent their names to BCCI for auction.

-After this, the list of players who have registered is sent to all the 10 teams of IPL. Each franchise prepares a new list by selecting players as per its choice. After that all the 10 teams send the list of shortlisted players back to BCCI.

-Suppose all 10 teams together show interest in only 500 players out of 1355 players for IPL 2026. BCCI team will prepare an auction pool of these 500 players. In these, uncapped, capped, Indian and foreign players will be divided into different categories. After this entire process, bidding will be held on these 500 players, who were shortlisted by all the ten teams together.

Also read:

Hardik Pandya created panic in the return match, scored 77 runs at a strike rate of 183; Abhishek Sharma’s team lost

Won the first ODI, yet three weak links of Team India emerged; It is necessary to overcome in the second ODI